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Kank
Kank Worker This creature is a large insect with a black, chitinous exoskeleton and long, waving antennae. Its body is divided into a head, thorax and abdomen, and it has a pair of curved mandibles with which it produces a curious clicking noise. Workers are the hive’s laborers, drones and principal food producers. They secrete nectar in melon–sized globules along their workers’ abdomens and provide this to other members of the hive when needed. Kank Soldier This creature is a large insect with a black, chitinous exoskeleton and long, waving antennae. Its body is divided into a head, thorax and abdomen, and it has a pair of curved mandibles with which it produces a curious clicking noise. With powerful mandibles and a poisonous bite, soldier kanks are the warriors of their hive. When domesticated, soldier kanks are often used as caravan mounts, as they can travel for a full day at top speed while carrying a tremendous amount of weight for their size. Kank Queen The leader of the hive, a kank brood queen is loyally defended by her subjects at all times. Brood queens lay the hive’s eggs, usually20-50at a time, and the soldiers will then fiercely defend the area until the eggs hatch. Kanks choose an area for egg laying that is near abundant amounts of vegetation for food. Ecology Kank workers are able to create elaborate nests and tunnel systems using a combination of soil, chewed wood, saliva, and feces. The walls of a kank hive have hardness 1 and 4 hit points per inch of thickness. A queen sits in the center of a kank hive, producing the eggs with the aid of worker kanks, never leaving the nest. The queen lays anywhere from 20 to 50 eggs at a time, each egg hatching in about four weeks. If the egg is fertilized, the kank will be female; if not, it will be male. The larvae reach maturity in about six weeks. The average worker kank lives for about 3 years, though the queen lifespan might be up to 30 years. While kank nectar is quite delicious, only the most desperate of individuals will eat kank flesh. When a kank dies, its body produces chemicals that render its flesh is foul-smelling and utterly unpalatable and because of that kanks do not have natural predators. Soldiers are charged with gathering food for the hive, in the form of most types of leaves and fronds, and an occasional small animal. Environment Kanks prefer hot and dry environments, but they can thrive in any type of environment. They are rarely found underground. Typical Physical Characteristics The average worker kank measures less than 7 feet long and 3 feet in height and weighs around 250 pounds. Soldiers are 8 feet long and 4 feet tall and weigh 400 pounds. The queen is around 9 feet long, 5 feet tall, and she weighs about 500 pounds. Physically, male and female kanks from the same type are identical. Kank chitin color may vary; most are deep red or black, but other colors can also be seen, including some species with a metallic luster. Society Kanks organize themselves into hives. Worker kanks secrete large globules of honey, which are used to feed the young of the hive; soldiers act as guards, warriors and defenders of the hive, and the brood queen rules the hive by dint of her reproductive prowess. Kanks are generally domesticated as mounts, beasts of burden or for their nectar. While kank nectar is quite delicious, only the most desperate of individuals will eat kank flesh. When a kank dies, its body produces chemicals that render its flesh foul–smelling and utterly unpalatable. Kank exoskeleton can be used as armor, but it is very brittle and has to be treated properly to toughen it up some. Exoskeletons are sometimes used for construction of chitin golems. From time to time, when a hive has reached a certain size, a brood queen will give birth to a younger queen. The hive will then split, with some workers and soldiers accompanying the new queen as she sets off to found a hive of her own. *Carrying Capacity: A light load for a worker kank is up to 43 pounds; a medium load, 44–86 pounds; a heavy load, 87–130 pounds. For Characters Kank honey is very sweet and fetches a high price. It can sustain the food (but not water) requirements for a Medium creature for up to three weeks before requiring more substantial nourishment. One pound of nectar can reach up to 20 gold in most markets. Kank exoskeleton can be crafted into armor when cleaned and prepared. One pound of treated chitin costs 4 sp. A much more common use of kank exoskeleton is in the construction of chitin golems (TotDL 31). A character needs the Bug Trainer feat (page XX) in order to train kanks, which make good and inexpensive mounts. Kank Lore Characters with ranks in Knowledge (nature) can learn more about kanks. When a character makes a successful skill check, the following lore is revealed, including the information from lower DCs. Knowledge (Nature) DC Result *11 This creature is a kank, a large docile insect. This reveals all vermin traits. *16 Kanks are often used as caravans mounts because of their ability to carry heavy loads and to produce nutritious nectar. *21 Soldier kanks have poisonous bites, while the queen can emit a gas cloud it uses to escape when treated. Category:Animals